WGA tries to discipline writers before breaking guild rules during strike

The Writers Guild of America asked on Friday to maintain disciplinary actions against four of their brothers accused of violating gilder rules during the 2023 strike.

Three of the writers – Edward John Drake, Roma Roth and Julie Bush – are accused of performing forbidden “writing services” in violation of the solidarity of the trade union. A fourth member, Tim Doyle, is accused of making an off-color joke in a Facebook group of fellow writers.

The WGA West Board voted to expel Drake and Roth, the most serious form of punishment for violations of the guild. Bush received a temporary suspension and a lifelong ban on serving as an attack lock, while Doyle received a public censorship.

All four appeal to the discipline for general membership. Three other members, who were not identified, were also found guilty by process committees to write during the strike. Those members chose not to appeal.

A vote on the profession will take place with an online vote of 6-9 May.

In written memos, each of the four writers asked membership to destroy the decision of the board. Several claimed that they were subject to an unfair process and were tormented with the fear of public shame and the subsequent consequences for their career.

“The board may not be able to intimidate, execute unfair processes, make up retaliation discipline without the right process, or ignore the recommendations of his committees and researchers,” wrote Drake. “This has been a terrible test, one that I hope you never have to continue. I have been living under the guillotine of fear for months that I could wake up and the board would have publicly announced my unfair expulsion.”

Drake was the writer-director of an independent film, ‘Guns Up’, who was in production in New Jersey during the strike. The WGAW board claimed that Drake participated during the production “scab” and that he refused to transfer the concepts of the script to guild researchers. Drake was also accused of refusing to identify a person who rewrote the end of the film and who was not a guild member.

“The trial committee explained Drake from the importance of identifying the Strike Breaker, so that the guild could take action against a person who undermined the strike,” the council wrote in his position statement. “Drake still refused.”

Drake argued that he was punished because he refused to name ‘names’. He also argued that he made “adjustments” and “tweaks” to the script in his capacity as the director of the film, and that he did this in accordance with the guidelines of the Directors Guild of America. Such small script revisions are the subject of a dispute between the WGA and the DGA for decades.

The WGA test committee ordered a suspension of 18 months and offered to restore the membership of Drake if he identified the person who rewrited the end. The board voted to increase the discipline for expulsion and to publicly identify Drake. According to Drake’s profession, the motion to expel was offered by Adam Conover, one of the most prominent strike leaders.

“If you believe that Adam Convers and the Board must explain why they must explain to the recommendations of their own researcher, head of the (Compliance Committee strike) and Trial Committee – the board systems that the WGAW has able to guarantee an honest treatment of its members – then Drake wrote.

In response, the WGA board argued that Drake had shown ‘contempt’ for the procedure and had displayed a hearing several times.

“Every guild -member knows what it means when there is a strike: pencils down,” the board wrote. “Edward Drake did not go down during the strike.”

Roth is a Canadian writer who worked as the showrunner in the “Sullivan’s Crossing” series in Nova Scotia when the strike began. According to the WGA sign, two writers in the show inquired the guild that Roth participated in a zoom writers’ room and held other writing activities during the strike.

“The evidence showed that Roth broke stories during the strike, revised transfers, rewrote scripts and gave instructions, instructions or suggestions to other writers about stories and teleplays,” wrote the WGAW board in its position statement.

In her defense, Roth argued that she had terminated her writing contract as soon as the strike started and continued the show as a non-writing executive producer. She wrote that she was ‘shocked’ by the hard discipline and did not expect the WGA ” my producing work to interpret as ‘performing writing services’.

Roth, who was also an executive producer on ‘Virgin River’, is a double member of the WGA and the Writers Guild from Canada. The show was produced under WGC -Jurisdiction, in which Roth had to be exempt from the WGA, because the production company was not a signer of the WGA contract. When the strike began, the exemption was withdrawn, so that it was excluded from performing writing services for a non-signor.

She also stated that the two writers who were biased against her witnessed because of personal complaints. She also stated that the chairman of the trial committee resigned after deciding that the process was ‘defective and unfair’.

“I understand and respect the fact that you all sacrificed a lot during the strike,” she wrote. “Please know that I would never have consciously caused damage to you or our guild. Many producers and writers outside the US continued to work during the strike, including both writers who testified against me.”

Bush was also accused of violating the prohibition of the guild against working for non-signed companies. According to the documents, Bush was accused of handing in a revised version of a pilot script for a show about Elon Musk and Tesla on 22 May, three weeks in the strike.

“The Scripture of Scabies cannot be tolerated,” the board wrote. “It is an anathema for the culture of solidarity among membership that the guild makes a fighting union.”

Bush fought the pipe. She argued that her lawyers had closed the deal for the show on the eve of the strike and that she had exchanged countless messages with WGA lawyers to ensure that it was good.

She turned out not to have violated the strike rule because the company was not a signer. She also said that the company had promised to be a signer, but later decreased about their agreement and refused to pay her.

The trial committee ordered a private letter from Censure and a bar about serving three years as a strike captain. The board has upgraded the penalty to a suspension until May 2026, a lifelong prohibition on serving as a captain and a public censorship.

In her appeal, she argued that she had not violated the rule against working for a non-signer, partly because she was never paid. She also argued that the only reason why the WGA discovered the problem was because she had come to the guild for help.

“Nevertheless, the information that I provided confidentially was finally reversed and armed by Guild staff to build the case against me,” she wrote. “They try to make me an example. But I am not an example. I am a human.”

The WGA defended his decision to make Bush’s decision public.

“The decision of the board is rooted in transparency,” the board wrote. “Membership has the right to know when another member undermined collective action, such as Bush. The membership also has the right to know the consequences for those who chose to write during the strike.”

Doyle was publicly censored via a mass-mail for membership last July for a bad attempt at a joke on Facebook. In August 2023 a member placed in the WGA Writers Facebook group about a strike milestone: “Happy 100th Day, for everyone who observes …”

“I just got my tree on!” Doyle responded, with an image of silhouette from a man hung on a tree branch.

Doyle argued that the image was meant to refer to his own suicide, and that it was “gallghumor” about the fear that writers felt about the future of industry. But some within the group considered it a racist representation of a lynching.

Doyle was accused of violating the WGA constitution by working on “behavior for the well -being of the guild.” A trial committee voted to give him a private censorship, a statement that Doyle was repentant and did not intend to place a picture of a lynch. The committee also found that he had failed to fully explain the damage of his actions or to offer a genuine apology.

The board has upgraded the discipline to a public disapproval and pushed back on the concern that it controlled its speech on social media.

“The board has the right to censor the behavior is harmful to the interests of its members, in particular when that behavior takes place publicly,” the Council said. “Such a censorship is a form of freedom of expression itself.”

In response, Doyle said that he is still ‘terrified’ by his action and extended to apologize to those he insulted. He also wrote that it was ‘painful’ to feel alienated from the writing community and said that censorship is talking about a ‘smallness’ of attitude, a refusal to forgive and a failure of empathy.

“These are clearly difficult times for our trade union (and our industry, country and planet), and a frustrating time for writers – lots of bad news and very few real victories,” Doyle wrote. “We don’t seem to be touching none of the responsible bosses. Do people unite that taking down a fellow writer could satisfy as a consolation prize?”

The board urged membership to maintain public disapproval.

“He was not” put on the blacklist, “denied employment, or robbed of one of the rights of the current members of the Gilde,” the board wrote. “He was called up for behavior that Guild -members Schadeste.”

WGA members were encouraged during the strike to report bodies of strikes to the guild. The Strike Rules Compliance Committee, led by writer Glen Mazzara, investigated dozens of such accusations, according to the response of the board to Drake.